In Silence and Shadows
by jedimike7622
Summary: After the Fall of Beacon, one Huntsman-in-training leaves his academy to find the truth behind the death of Pyrrha Nikos. Along the way, he meets some familiar faces and learns far more than he imagined.
1. Chapter 1

**In Silence and Shadows**

 **Chapter 1**

Remnant's broken moon shone down through the sparse canopy of tree leaves. The pale light cast strange patterns on the forest floor, shifting currents of light and shadow. A solitary figure stalked along the dimly lit, unkempt path that wound casually between the trees. He wore a black leather chest piece with red trim and laces over a short sleeve black shirt, with one large leather pauldron on his left shoulder and a small fur pauldron on his right. His pants were also black, and loose enough to allow full movement. On his lower legs he wore a pair of black shin guards, carved with intricate designs and made from a thick, strong metal. An Ursa head hood sat on his head. From beneath the hood shone fierce blue eyes, intense and piercing. He had a short beard, coarse and bright red. One that faded into a deeper auburn as it rose to the temples of his youthful face. He plodded along steadily, looking about periodically so as to keep an eye on his surroundings.

It had been several months since he had set out on his mission. The fall of Beacon Academy had sent shockwaves throughout all of Remnant. It had had a particular impact on the young man, as word of Beacon's destruction had brought with it news of a more personal nature: the death of his childhood friend, Pyrrha Nikos. She had been one of the only people he considered a friend, and the only human he really trusted. Her loss had hit him like a charging Boarbatusk. That was why he had to find answers. Nobody had been told exactly what had happened, and that mystery ate at him as much as the fact that she was never coming back.

He angrily blinked back tears as the grief threatened to overwhelm him. As he composed himself, a new sound reached his ears. Listening carefully, he recognized what sounded like a distant brawl. Cautiously, he sped up his pace, heading for the noise. Through the forest ahead, he could see flashes of activity, and the sound became louder. He could pick out the sound of Beowolves snarling, and the dull thud of several impacts. Pushing on, he slipped between two trees and finally found the cause of all the commotion. It was a girl, a tiny thing, fending off several hungry looking Beowolves. She was quick, dodging in and out of their swipes with amazing agility, but she didn't seem to be interested in counterattacking. Her weapon of choice seemed to be some sort of umbrella or parasol, which she held like a rapier. So far she had managed not to get killed, but she was starting to visibly slow down. She seemed to sigh, her shoulders slumping sadly. She dropped the point of her umbrella, surrendering to the end. The Beowolves, creatures of Grimm drawn by negative emotions, began circling closer. Snarling hungrily, one of the Beowolves lunged straight at her. Knowing that he had to do something, he sprang into action without thinking. Charging into the fray, he dodged between the charging Grimm and the girl. Raising his left arm, his gauntlet expanded into a large, circular shield, just in time to block the Grimm's next blow. With his right hand, he drew what was essentially a long knife from his belt. In a blink, it expanded into a large spear. He quickly thrust at the Beowolf to his right, scoring a direct hit, killing it. The Grimm collapsed, beginning to dissolve fairly quickly. The young man swept his arm to his left, slashing the spearhead across the Beowolf he had been holding off with his shield. The Grimm fell back, wounded but not quite dead. Growling threateningly, the other two Beowolves also took a few steps back. What had seemed an easy meal had just gotten a lot more difficult. He positioned himself between the girl, who had slumped to her knees, and the Grimm, who began spreading out to try and surround them. Raising his shield and spear, the young man took a combat pose, roaring ferociously. The sound, unnatural and beastly, seemed to startle the Grimm somewhat. The Beowolf on the left attacked first, leaping high into the air. With a loud clang, his shield intercepted the creature's attack. Bending slightly to absorb some of the impact, he flexed and twisted, throwing the Beowolf off of his shield and into the already wounded creature. Coming from the right, the next Beowolf decided to try its luck, only to impale itself on the young man's outstretched spear. He kicked it off with one foot, then turned to face the remaining two Grimm. Changing tactics, he leapt forward, going on the offensive. Sweeping his arm from left to right, he slashed the spearhead through the uninjured Grimm's leg, severing it in one swing. Pivoting his wrist to maintain the momentum, he brought the spear around and down as he sidestepped, severing the creature's head easily. The injured Beowolf, perhaps smarter than his friends, turned and began to run on all fours. He flicked his left wrist, collapsing the shield back down into just a gauntlet. As he raised his spear in two hands, it shifted and changed, becoming a long rifle. Aiming down the sights, he squeezed off a single shot, catching the fleeing Beowolf square in the back, killing it. After looking around to be certain the area was clear, he collapsed the rifle back into its original long knife configuration and sheathed it. Walking back to the girl, he got his first good look at her. The things that stood out the most were her hair and her eyes. Her hair was strawberry pink on one side and chocolate brown on the other, with white streaks through the pink side. Her eyes were also pink and brown, matching with her hair. Tears streamed from her eyes, leaving tracks in the dirt that smudged her face. Kneeling down, he held out his hand in a gesture of assistance. Looking up, her eyes met his. She blinked, her eyes switching colors, the pink one becoming brown and the brown one becoming pink. He drew back, surprised at this. She cringed, as if afraid that he'd hit her, and her eyes turned white. The fear on her face broke his heart. Moving slowly, he put his hand back out. The girl simply stared at him warily. Sighing, he began to pull his hand back when suddenly she leapt at him, throwing her arms around his neck and sobbing. He knelt there awkwardly, trying to figure out what to do with his arms. He finally wrapped them around her shoulders, trying to make comforting noises. After a while, she pulled away gently and wiped her eyes with her sleeves. He tried to smile, the expression feeling unfamiliar on his normally serious face.

"My name is Carmine. What's yours?" he asked.

She looked up at him curiously, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a Scroll. She hesitantly began tapping out some text, then held it out for him to read.

 _My name is Neopolitan. My friends call me Neo._

Her head drooped slightly. She typed some more.

 _At least, they did._

"What do you mean by that?" Carmine inquired.

She sighed, her breath shaky.

 _I had one friend. He's gone now. During the Fall._

Her eyes began to tear up again, and a single tear streamed down her cheek. Carmine lowered his head, understanding. He looked back up to find her studying his face. He tried to smile again, but found himself unable to. He gently reached up and wiped away the tear form her cheek.

"I lost a friend during the Fall too. I don't know exactly what happened, but I intend to find out."

She was still looking at him intently, as if seeing his words on his face and studying them to determine their truth. She nodded suddenly, having reached some internal decision. She leaned forward and took his hand, then stood up and smiled. It seemed a little forced to Carmine, but he wasn't going to push the issue any. Clearly she had a lot going on, and he figured that she would talk about it when she was ready. She turned and began walking, casually beckoning for him to follow. Shrugging his shoulders, Carmine set off, wondering about this strange girl in front of him, and about what lay ahead.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

After a few hours, the sun began peeking out over the horizon, and the walls of Vale became visible through the trees ahead. The girl hadn't said anything else since their initial meeting, by text or by speaking. Carmine continued to ponder his new companion, while also trying to imagine where she might be leading him. Passing through the gate, he was struck by how quiet everything was, considering what had happened. Granted, it had been months, but Carmine had actually expected there to be more… chaos. Instead, everything seemed shockingly normal. People walked casually along the sidewalks, apparently unconcerned. But Carmine noticed things. People were scared. He could smell it in the air. He could see it in their eyes. Everything looked calm, but there was an undercurrent of tension so thick that he could have almost cut through it with his spear. Clearly, the effects of the Fall were still being felt long after the event itself.

Carmine's quiet companion, the girl with the multicolor hair and eyes, walked as though she knew exactly where she was going. Which, he supposed, she must. She wound her way from main streets to back alleys as if she'd walked them a million times. At one point he cleared his throat questioningly, but Neo merely glanced back with that same exact confident smile she had worn in the forest. The difference was that now it seemed more genuine and less forced. He smiled slightly in spite of himself. For reasons he couldn't quite put his finger on, Carmine felt drawn to this girl. He growled slightly to himself. He knew better than to like anyone. Liking meant trusting, and he had learned long ago that nobody could be trusted. Nobody except Pyrrha.

Before long, Neo stopped in front of a particular building and cocked her head slightly. A set of wide steps led up to a large set of double doors. Carmine could hear very faint club style music coming from inside. Neo turned to face him, hands on her hips and smile on her face. She pulled out her Scroll and tapped out a message.

 _Inside. I know a guy who might be able to help us._

Carmine nodded and moved to head up the stairs, but Neo put a hand on his chest.

 _He might be… hesitant. We might need to convince him._

Carmine set his jaw. He could be convincing, if he needed to be. He walked up the steps and pushed the doors open. The music poured out like a wave, washing over Carmine and his tiny, silent shadow. He walked inside to find a mostly empty club, with colored lights flashing in patterns to the music. The few occupants Carmine could see were all wearing matching black suits and hats, save the DJ, who wore a giant bear head hat. At the bar, off to one side, was a larger man in a black vest, red tie, and white long sleeve button up shirt. He was flanked by two girls who appeared to be twins, dressed in similar frilly outfits, one in red and the other in white.

Neo pointed at the man at the bar, indicating that he was the one they needed to speak to. Carmine walked up as casually as he could manage. It wound up being less casual, and more predator stalking prey. The man eyed him warily as he leaned against the bar. When he spoke, the man had a gruff voice, similar to Carmine's own.

"Are you lost, kid?"

Carmine growled slightly at the hint of disrespect in the man's voice.

"I'm not a kid, and I'm pretty sure I'm exactly where I intend to be."

The man huffed irritably.

"Listen, kid. I'm very busy, so if you could just leave the way you came, I'd appreciate it."

Carmine growled softly. He didn't exactly know how he did it, but it always came out sounding beastly and inhuman. The man turned towards him and glowered.

"You really want to do this, kid?"

In response, Carmine growled louder. He grabbed the man by the throat and pivoted, using the motion to gain the momentum he needed to throw the man behind the bar. The man hit the shelves behind the bar with such force that the wall behind it cracked, and it took a moment for gravity to actually pull him down to the floor. Drawing his shield and spear, he turned and crouched just in time to deflect a blow from one of the twins. She did some sort of pinwheel kick, which he managed to block while slashing towards the other girl. She spun out of the way, her skirt twirling around her. The first twin lashed out with a series of quick kicks, all of which impacted on his shield. He stabbed and thrusted, missing all but the last hit, which connected to her midsection and sent her flying backwards into the bar. The other twin leapt in, punching and slashing with her arm blades and again, Carmine's shield blocked every blow with little effort. She stepped backwards, and he took that opportunity to press his own attack. While not as fast as her or her sister, Carmine was far stronger, and every blow staggered her, whether she blocked it or not. With an upward strike, he broke her block, then pivoted into a leg sweep. As she hit the ground, he slammed the butt of his spear into her stomach, leaving her curled up and unable to fight further. Turning towards the dance floor in anticipation of an attack from the lookalike goons, Carmine was surprised to see them all already strewn about, unconscious. Neo sat on top of a small pile of the thugs, legs crossed and umbrella open on her shoulder, that same smirk on her face. Carmine sheathed his weapons and turned back to the bar, just as the boss man was standing back up, leaning heavily on the bar. Carmine reached over and grabbed him by his lapel, dragging him over the bar. He slammed him onto the floor, then propped him up against the bar. Carmine growled at him again, baring his teeth for extra effect.

"I came here for answers, and I. Will. Have them."

The boss looked past Carmine, focusing on Neo, who still sat on her pile of groaning henchman, smiling as if she didn't have a care in the world. The big man sighed and leaned his head back against the bar.

"I should have known you'd come back here eventually."

He turned his head to focus back on Carmine.

"If you'd told me you were with her in the first place, I would have been more cooperative. Her boss and I had an… understanding."

Carmine glanced at Neo, trying to read her expression. He found nothing but that self-confident smirk.

"You're going to answer _my_ questions, not hers. I want to know who was behind the Fall. Who killed Pyrrha Nikos?"

"That Beacon student? I don't know."

Carmine growled again, a low, animal sound of growing anger. The big man actually flinched slightly.

"I don't know, I swear! But I do know who might know. She was a professor at Beacon. One of the head people. She'd know more about what happened. She's staying in town, helping to repair the damage from the attack. She might have the answers you're looking for. Please, just go. I need to start cleaning up."

Carmine sighed, then released the big man's lapel and turned on his heel, heading towards the exit. He stopped next to where Neo had piled up the generic thugs. She looked up at him, still smiling and gently twirling her umbrella. Something about the way she had watched him as he fought, the way she watched him now, made him suspicious, and vaguely disheartened. He grunted softly at her.

"Did I pass your test?"

Neo, smirking, merely tilted her head to one side and regarded him with those mismatched eyes of hers. Eyes which revealed nothing of her thoughts or intentions. He sighed softly and turned to leave. Neo stood up and fell in step beside him, as if trying to say that she considered him a partner now, not a lackey. Carmine wasn't sure if he believed it for a second.


End file.
